Free
by Catlover friendly-but-xplosive
Summary: "No one cared about them. They were just experiments. Just numbers..."  All Sonic knows is life at the School. All Sonic knows is she will never be free.  Rated T for themes.


The main character in this story, and her friend Mikki, are of my own design. However, I pay no claim to the concept of Maximum Ride, so anything you recognise (unless you RP with Sonic and Mikki of course) belong to James Patterson. Sadly.

The formatting of this document is off. Whenever 'XX' appears its a new paragraph, and whenever I put a line it's a new section.

**Free**

Footsteps echoed through the large space as the whitecoat and two Erasers walked down the line of cages, with purpose. The children within them shrank back and relaxed as they passed them by. But then they stopped.

All the children in their immediate vicinity flinched close to the wall, closing their eyes desperately while praying to whatever holy being was out there. But only one cage door was opened and the other children were pitifully grateful it wasn't theirs.

The unlucky child felt cold fear congeal in her belly as she scrambled back against the wall, whimpering. Her breath came hard and fast as she shook her head frantically as an Eraser reached for her.

"No, please," she pleaded, hugging her arms tightly around her chest as she curled into a small, wriggling ball that the Eraser couldn't quite grip. She couldn't have been more than seven, with the most gorgeous brown hair that hung down to her waist. Her eyes were distinctly yellow, with cat slits instead of regular pupils. On her bare arms was a covering of cheetah fur and she had a short tail wrapped around one leg. She was trembling badly.

"If you insist on making this difficult for us, it will be worse for you," the whitecoat said in clipped tones, sounding irritated. Terror made the girl freeze and the Eraser brutally dragged her out. She collapsed on her hands and knees on the floor.

"Get up," the woman commanded, clicking her fingers. One Eraser bent down to drag her up and she scrambled backwards, sliding slightly on the polished, blindingly white floor as she attempted to pull herself up on the cage doors. The other children watched her without trying to help her.

Finally achieving the climb to her feet, she stood for several moments paralysed, leaning against the cages behind her and looking longingly down the corridor, away from her torturers. When the whitecoat snapped her fingers again she shook her head desperately, shaking and backing down the corridor.

Eventually it took the too-tight grip of an Eraser's clawed hand on her upper arm to make her walk with them. Her cage door was left open as they left with the terrified child, too terrified to make a sound for fear of further punishment.

XX

The room to which they took her was terrifyingly familiar. A tall bed in the centre was surrounded by whitecoats, and IV drips and all other manner of medical instruments were close to hand. The child's huge eyes filled with tears and she began to whimper again as the Eraser hoisted her onto the bed and strapped her securely down.

"No! No needles! No more needles..." she moaned as she tried to fight the restraints holding her down. The Eraser snarled at her and she felt fear choke her up again as she went limp instantly, trembling.

"Keep it quiet," one whitecoat muttered, annoyed. He turned back to the tape recorder in his hand. "Subject seventeen, four percent cheetah. Goes by the name of Nara Merelson."

Another whitecoat connected her up to a drip and she sighed resignedly as they connected a bag of clear liquid she recognised with a dull sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was almost worse not knowing what they were doing to her, but she had no choice. She had no choice in anything. She never had.

As the world faded to darkness she felt her throat constrict and tears glimmered in her eyes.

XX

She woke in her cage again, stinging all over. Salty tear-tracks marked her cheeks and she felt groggy. Hopelessly she closed her eyes again, sending a desperate prayer to whoever would listen.

_Help me, please. Help us all..._

* * *

Her eyes snapped open as she became aware someone was talking to her.

"Sonic?" asked a timid voice as she closed her eyes for a second, turning to the cage next to her at the otter girl speaking to her. They had struck up a cautious friendship, needing someone to talk to. Both were fully aware that each time one was taken away might be the last time they'd see each other.

"What is it Mikki?" she asked, leaning to her neighbour's side of her cage. Mikki heaved a sigh of relief. She was six and had lank mousy brown hair which would probably be very pretty if properly cared for.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up," she said in a small voice. Her eyes revealed the extent of her fear at this. The nine-year-old cheetah girl reached through the bars and grasped her friend's shoulder.

"I'll never leave you alone," she promised. Both girls knew that she couldn't keep her promise, that they were all helpless in this place, but it made Mikki feel better. She smiled timidly and squeezed her friend's hand.

"Thanks," she said.

* * *

Mikki stared desperately at Sonic as she was led away by the whitecoats. Sonic met her eyes looking equally desperate as she slumped against the back of her cage. It was almost worse when Mikki was taken away, not knowing what was happening to her friend.

She gnashed her sharp teeth in frustration and an Eraser smirked at her and spoke in a rough voice.

"Careful now missy," he said smugly. "You know what happens to mutants who have attitude." The thinly veiled threat made her breath catch in her throat as she shrank back in her cage. He snapped his claws at her and she swallowed, terror in her eyes.

Mutants- how she hated that term- who were deemed 'too difficult' were used as target practise for the Erasers. He laughed harshly as he passed her.

"Remember that next time you're tempted to show attitude," he said in his gravelly voice. "Think twice, eh? Or you might just end up in my sights sooner rather than later."

Sonic curled into a small ball and tried desperately not to cry. She couldn't cry, she just couldn't. She had to be strong for Mikki, and the whitecoats hated crying. The thought of being punished made her tremble.

She lost the battle and tears flooded down her young face, tears she had held in for far too long, and they just kept coming.

* * *

"Keep her under," a voice said, interrupting Sonic's brooding. She looked up, tears still caked down her cheeks, to see an Eraser carrying her unconscious friend. Concern filled her face.

"What have you done to her?" she demanded of the whitecoat accompanying the Eraser. The whitecoat looked up, mildly annoyed.

"If you don't shut up, you'll be next," he snapped at her. Fear filled her eyes but she refused to back down.

"What did you do to her?" she demanded again as they shoved Mikki in the cage and locked it. She looked pathetic, crumpled like that. She knew she wouldn't wake for hours.

"Nothing you need to worry about," the whitecoat repeated, irritated. Sonic glared at him and snarled, baring her teeth.

Now the whitecoat was sick of her. He found the right key for her cage and her breath hiked up a notch as he unlocked it and yanked her out. She hit the ground hard, blinking somewhat surprised. She hadn't seen that one coming.

"She can be target practise. If she survives twenty minutes, return her to the cage," he told the Eraser curtly. One of the other mutants grimaced in sympathy as the Eraser dragged her up by the collar of her medical gown.

"Yes sir," he said with relish as he dragged her down the corridor roughly, half choking her. Terror was written all over her features and in the tense set of her body. She was about to experience the scariest twenty minutes of her young life.

XX

The Eraser shoved her in the exercise pen and her fear-clouded mind was numb for a moment before she thought that she had best stretch at least before the onslaught came. She jumped at every small noise, but when the first Eraser came she almost didn't dodge in time.

She blurred out of the way but then three more came out, and then more... she fled around the pen, her terror blocking out everything else. They snapped at her and she moved faster than she had in her whole life, continuously on the move, unable to stop, unable to fight back...

XX

By the time the twenty minutes were up, she was collapsed in one corner of the pen, absolutely helpless, but amazingly alive. She had never been as exhausted in all her life before as she was now. Her muscles were like jelly.

As the whitecoats approached her she tried to stand, to save herself from further punishment- they hated weakness- but couldn't. All she could do was lie there and pant, bleeding heavily out of multiple wounds over her body. She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

When an Eraser approached her, she flinched and squeezed her eyes tight shut but he simply picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder before starting for the lab.

XX

She hurt all over when she woke up. A drip was in her arm and there was a furious whitecoat storming around. She squeezed her eyes shut tight. A furious whitecoat meant only one thing: punishment.

"Those bastards," he muttered as he punched something into a computer and looked over at her, not seeming to realise she was awake. "It wasn't enough to nearly kill her, but they had to take her to the lab afterwards." She dared to open her eyes, just a little.

"Her?" she asked timidly, hardly daring to believe it. "Not... it?" The whitecoat turned to her and frowned.

"I didn't realise you were awake," he said. "And of course you aren't an it. It's horrible the way these bastards treat you kids. It's not enough to just poke and prod you but they have to treat you so badly too." She dropped her eyes to the floor and he walked over to her, placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You have to get out one day," he told her seriously. "For now, just focus on healing." She nodded without believing the whitecoat actually cared. She knew he didn't. He was just pretending, to try and get her hopes up so they could be dashed again later. She closed her eyes and, expecting to be slapped across the face at any minute, managed to somehow fall into a light doze.

XX

When next she woke, she was back in her cage. Mikki was peering anxiously at her.

"Where were you? I was so worried," she said. She looked pale and a little drowsy but otherwise in as good health as any of them ever were. Sonic smiled a little, vaguely.

"Dogs," she mumbled. "Medical centre." Mikki grimaced and drew her arms tight around her. A flash of a brown muzzle snapped at her and she started, looking wildly around for the Eraser. There wasn't one. She hugged herself tight and rocked back and forth, shuddering.

* * *

As the Eraser dragged her from the cage she didn't dare fight or speak. They only gave you one warning, and that was target practise. The next time they let the Erasers tear you to shreds.

She followed the whitecoat meekly, to the Erasers disappointment. He didn't like it when they were cowed. The whitecoats did, though. Less trouble that way.

"You've been an awfully good girl lately," the whitecoat said conversationally as they walked. "Which is why we haven't taken you lately. We reward good behaviour, have you noticed that?" She glanced up and nodded questioningly. Could she reply?

"I'm glad you've noticed," the woman said. "It seems even the fiercest spirits can be broken, hmm?" She looked down at the floor again and sighed. The woman smiled, taking that for her answer.

"I'm so glad you agree with me," she said. "Ah ha, we're here." The room they entered wasn't a lab. This surprised Sonic and she frowned, looking around. There were five beds in the room, and machines connected up to them. She looked nervously up at the whitecoat, who patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"It's alright, Nara," she said. "Just lie on one of these beds and we'll do everything else." She shuddered at the use of the name the whitecoats had given her. She had always hated that name. She hesitated in the doorway. Here the whitecoat raised her voice slightly.

"Get on a bed Nara," she said firmly, in that voice that meant that the next step was getting an Eraser onto you. The Eraser grinned in anticipation. Hurriedly she ventured into the room and perched on one of the beds. For the first time she spoke.

"What does this do?" she asked timidly. The whitecoat, working at a computer, spoke without looking up.

"It'll make you believe you're in another life," she replied. "It's called virtual reality. I want to test how you respond to emotional stimuli other than pain or fear." She turned around to her. "Lay down."

Obediently she did so, not daring to ask any more questions. The whitecoat started attaching sensory leads all over her body before strapping her down. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Don't worry- the straps are just a precaution. Some respond violently," the woman said, reassuringly. She didn't believe her for a second. Then she returned to the computer.

"Alright, Nara, now close your eyes and relax." She wanted to question how exactly she was supposed to relax but the flash of Eraser muzzles passed in front of her again and she just closed her eyes, hoping it would be enough.

Suddenly she was back in the exercise yard, the Erasers attacking her... she screamed and tried to shield her head with her hands, snapping her eyes open. The whitecoat chuckled and stopped it. She lay limply in the restraints, heart racing.

"That was just to test if it worked or not. Alright, Nara, here comes the real test." Sonic managed to close her eyes again and slow her racing heart just a little. Suddenly she was somewhere else.

She really couldn't describe the place. She supposed it was what normal houses looked like, but she had never been inside of one before. There was a kitchen, and a room with what looked like a large computer and some padded chairs which seated three. Sofas, she recalled from somewhere. They were called sofas.

A woman walked out from another room and smiled merrily at her.

"Hey, darling. You're up early," she said easily. This reflection of normal life, of having a mother, made Sonic's heart just about burst. She curled her tail up to hug it and found with some alarm that it wasn't there. For the first time she looked at herself and saw, much to her surprise, a pair of brown, normal eyes.

Desire swept through her and tears fell down her cheeks. The woman, looking concerned, walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked. Sonic threw her off and fled down the corridor, desperate to escape this cruel parody.

The whitecoat's cruel laughter cut through her despair as the room re-emerged before her eyes. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she lay limply, her chest shaking. The whitecoat approached her and smirked.

"Oops," she said softly. "I said no pain, didn't I?" Sonic refused to reply. Her only movement was to turn her head away. Tauntingly the whitecoat held a hand mirror in front of her whiskered, furry face with her cat eyes. A snarl broke free from deep in the back of her throat and she tried to slash at it, pushed beyond breaking point.

The woman beckoned an Eraser forwards.

"Take her to the lab," she said silkily. "Tell them they can do anything they want to her. Just make sure it hurts." Sonic didn't respond to this either, locked in her own private world of terror and despair, the gnashing teeth of Erasers suddenly needles as they bit into her skin.

XX

"Sonic!" Mikki sounded frantic as she slowly opened her heavy eyes, trying to focus on her friend. She was so tired... and that was when the pain struck her. Her calf muscles were on fire. They had made her run on a treadmill for so long. They had poked her with cattle prods when she stopped. She could feel some kind of change happening in her body, and it was enough to make her want to throw up. She barely resisted the urge. If she did, no one would clean it up.

"Sonic!" again Mikki called her and she frowned slightly, sitting up so she could look at her. The otter girl looked so worried that she almost smiled.

"I'm alright," she mumbled as she fell into darkness again. "Don't wor..."

XX

She was somewhere else when she woke, strapped securely to a bed. There was someone she didn't recognise there, peering at her. Someone wearing a suit.

"This one is successful?" he asked. She tried to close her eyes again, to sleep. She wasn't even a person to him. Just an experiment.

"As successful as any of them ever have been," a whitecoat replied. "Though there is still complication between her human and animal DNA."

"What sort of complication?" the suited man asked. Sonic blocked the conversation out as she looked around this new room, blinking tiredly.

It was quite small and there was a window with sunlight streaming in. With some shock she realised she was actually above ground. There was, apart from her table, a chair, desk with computer on it and bookcase. Her table seemed to be impermanent. The desk had been pushed to one side to make room for it.

"And what of its mental ability?" the man asked again. Slowly Sonic focussed on the conversation again.

"Seems to be regular for a child of its age and gender," he said. "Though it does have wild instincts."

"What do you expect when you stick cat DNA into me?" she snapped, sick of been talked about in the third person. Both men looked shocked at her and she snarled at them, exposing her sharp teeth. "I'm not an it. I'm a girl! A child! Don't you people have a heart?" She knew that she would pay for this later but she went recklessly on.

"My name is Sonic. I'm ten years old. I dislike..." she didn't get any further. The whitecoat hit her across the cheek hard. Stars twinkled before her and she had to suck her breath in sharply. The stinging sensation seemed to follow several seconds behind the blow, and the searing pain that told her the whitecoat had used a crop didn't come until that receded. She gasped and tears filled her eyes. The suited man looked shocked.

"It's the only way to deal with them," the whitecoat said, tucking his crop back under his jacket. "They'll listen to a little pain."

"That's your own fault," she gasped out. "If you hadn't tortured us, then maybe we'd listen to you rather than just your muscle." In a flash the crop was out again and she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and tensing up.

"Shut up girl!" the whitecoat snapped, clicking his fingers. An Eraser entered the room and roughly unstrapped her, dragging her off the bed. Fear made her whimper as his claws dragged through her tender flesh even as triumph swept through her. He had acknowledged she was a girl!

"Do whatever you want with her. Just get her away from us," the whitecoat snapped at him. He smiled with cruel anticipation and she felt a cold wave of terror sweep through her. She was going to die. She just knew it. Her muscles felt heavy from the drugs and she still had spots in front of her eyes. _I'm sorry, Mikki..._

It was all she could do to keep him from strangling her as he dragged her backwards by the collar. Her last glimpse of the suited man was caught from around the door. He seemed flustered and unhappy with the whitecoat. She smiled somewhat despite herself before the door slammed shut.

XX

It was only when the Eraser stopped and dropped her that she caught her breath properly- and smelled Eraser. Terrified she opened her eyes. She was surrounded by them! She scrambled against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest, whimpering.

One of them approached her and put his face right in hers. Trembling she flinched, raising her hands in front of her face to protect herself. The Eraser chuckled dryly.

"Shall we kill her boys?" he asked the group. Several replies rang out from all around her.

"Tear her to shreds!"

"Make her bleed,"

"Let's savour her, one bite at a time," said the most sadistic voice. Someone took a nip at her leg and she screamed. The laughter surrounded her and she tried to force herself further back into the wall.

_I swear I'll never be bad again, just let me survive! _she begged whoever was listening. Probably no one. No one cared about them. They were just experiments. Just numbers...

* * *

Tears glimmered in her eyes and she stared at the floor in despair as the mocking laughter of the Erasers washed over her, cut into her soul. She heaved a huge sigh and stared up at them, brokenly. She would never be free.

Sonic woke suddenly trembling and curled by the tree, its rough bark cutting into her back. For three years she had been a runner, with a tracking device embedded in her neck. They had turned her loose and given her a ten-second head start every time they let her out again.

When the Eraser appeared she didn't even try to run this time, just stared bleakly up at him as he approached her.

"Finally ready to stop running, eh, missy?" he sneered at her as he took her tanned forearm firmly in his clawed grasp. She stared at the ground and let him drag her up.

"There isn't any point," she sighed, brokenly. "You're always going to catch me." A helicopter landed nearby and the Eraser dragged her towards it. He smirked triumphantly as the sixteen year old stared with dead eyes ahead. They'd need to bring a new runner, or give this one incentive. Maybe her friend the otter could be used to motivate her.

"I'm never going to be free."


End file.
